A Fluffy Warehouse 13 Christmas
by The Indie Flash
Summary: A Christmas fic set after the season three finale... well... if H.G. and Steve hadn't died and Claudia had become the caretaker and H.G. and Myka got together. Very fluffy. ONE SHOT.


_It's almost Christmas and I think we all deserve a nice, fluffy Warehouse 13 Christmas WITH Jinksy and Helena! _Basically, this is set after the season 3 finale, but it's my DENIAL LAND! So, Jinks and Helena are alive. Also, H.G. and Myka are together and Claudia is the new caretaker of the Warehouse. A girl can dream, can't she? I hope you enjoy this fast paced fic as my Christmas gift to all of you.

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><p><strong>CHRISTMAS IN DENIAL LAND!<strong>

_Christmas Eve morning…_

"Isn't everything just awesome?" Claudia sighed happily and grinned over her mug of warm, dark coffee. Steve chuckled a little and glanced first to Pete, Myka, and H.G. before giving the exuberant redhead an inquisitive look.

"I would say yes. Any particular reason this morning is awesome?" He asked. The agents sat around the table at Leena's enjoying a simple breakfast.

"Well, no, but just think about it. Isn't everything just wonderful?" Claudia insisted, setting down her mug and smiling wider.

"Leena must've spiked her coffee." Pete joked, arousing a mocking glare from Claudia. Myka and H.G. locked gazes as both of them reflected on this and identical smiles turned up their lips.

"I suppose so, darling. Everything does seem to be going right." Helena chimed in and scooted a little closer to Myka. Leena leaned on the open doorway to the dining room, simply listening and letting the loving aura wash over her like a wave.

"Why are you all just sitting here? Don't we have work to do?" Artie thundered as he hobbled down the stairs, dressed in just a bathrobe with his hair more unkempt than usual.

"Artie? Why did you sleep here tonight? Don't you…" Myka replied, her brow furrowed and her question cut off as she noticed Dr. Calder wandering behind Artie in a similar uniform.

"Oh god… I don't want to fill in these blanks." Claudia announced with a horrified expression. Steve joined her in rushing from the table. H.G. gave Artie an approving look as he sheepishly approached the table.

"Dr. Vanessa was visiting for the night and I wanted to keep her company." The frazzled man explained to Myka whose eyebrow was traveling to new heights.

"Looks like you kept her plenty of company." H.G. teased, giving a little wave to Vanessa. Artie looked positively mortified and Myka and Pete couldn't suppress their giggling.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing inventory?" Artie sputtered, unable to think of a cleverer comeback.

"Yes, Mr. Hefner, we'll get right on that." Pete poked at Artie's robe, earning him a harsh slap on the wrist.

"Go! Do your job. I don't pay you to make inappropriate comments!" Artie growled, shooing the remaining agents in the same direction that Claudia and Steve had escaped in.

"Will Vanessa be staying for lunch?" Leena smirked.

"No, actually, I've got to help a Regent, his kid is sick, but I'll be back for Christmas." Dr. Calder finally spoke up, smiling at Artie.

"You're sure?" The graying man asked, a rare look of fragile hope in his eyes.

"Yes. Now you better get dressed and to warehouse before Claudia fires you." She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before rushing back upstairs to pack up and leave.

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><p><em>In the Aisle of Noel…<em>

"Claudia, I don't think you should… touch… that." Jinks stuttered, rounding a corner to find Claudia exploring the Aisle of Noel with a little more than her sense of sight.

"It's the two-front teeth, Jinksy! From the song!" She pointed frantically and waved him over. Steve shook his head walked to her side to examine the artifact.

"I would maybe back away, Claud, unless you want to be tripping over your two front teeth." He suggested, reading over the display.

"Causes rapid growth of front teeth and- okay. Backing away." The young caretaker took a few steps back got a mischievous expression as she noticed the snow on the ground. Putting some distance between her and her junior agent, Claudia crouched and started forming some of the snow into a ball.

"Oh no, no, no. We're not doing this." Steve backed away, hands up defensively. Claudia stood up and tossed the ball from hand to hand.

"Okay. I'm not going to nail you in the bald head with this."

"You're ly- ouch!" The snowball hit dead center, covering his face with snow and knocking him back a few steps. Falling to ground in a fit of giggles, Claudia didn't notice Steve slowly perfecting a snowball of his own. He stood over her, snowball hidden behind his back and held out a hand for her to grab.

"You should've seen your-"

"Face?" Steve cut her off before tossing his snowball right at her unsuspecting face. She shrieked and stumbled back, bringing a hand to her face to wipe the freezing ice off.

"Oh, it's war now." Claudia declared before running off to take cover behind a box. Just then, Myka, H.G., and Pete strolled up to Steve's side.

"What's she doing?" Myka asked with her head tilted.

"Preparing an arsenal of snowy cannonballs. You guys might want to DUCK!" Steve explained just as four snowball flew towards them, making the older agents dive to the ground.

"This seems kinda dangerous." Myka yelled out, hiding herself behind Helena. The warehouse seemed like one of the worst places to be throwing anything around.

"It seems rather fun to me." H.G. smiled at Myka, grabbing her hand and pulling her out from behind her.

"KAPOW!" Pete yelled, pelting a snowball in Claudia's direction. It crashed behind the box and a little yelp escaped Claudia's lips. Without moving, she called out.

"Pete! Ow! That was totally an ice ball!" Pete's fierce expression faded as he cautiously made his way over to her.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, Claud." When he was finally standing over the box, he looked down to see Claudia grinning like a maniacal little sister. Before he could even move a step closer, he was hit with a wall of snowballs that knocked him off his feet. "Whoa. That was so not cool!" Pete groaned from the ground as Claudia went into another giggle fit. Myka couldn't help but laugh as Pete groaned and cursed from the ground, but was stopped as out of nowhere, a snowball hit her square in the back.

"Hey!" Myka wheeled around and frowned at H.G. who was smirking next to Steve, who offered her a high-five.

"I can see the appeal of this sport." H.G. nodded as she awkwardly returned Steve's high-five.

"I'm not even wearing a jacket…" Myka muttered to herself, turning her back on Helena.

"I'm sorry. Perhaps you'd like me to keep you warm?" Helena put on her most charming smile and approached Myka, arms outstretched to wrap her up in a hug. Myka turned around and winked at Steve over Helena's shoulder. Then, perfectly on cue, Steve wound up and hit H.G. with a nicely formed snowball, eliciting hysterical laugher from everyone except the British woman.

"Touché, Steven, touché." She glared at him for a moment, but her expression lightening as Myka helped her wipe the snow off.

"Let's call a truce. I think everyone has been hit." Pete said, his arms up in surrender. Everyone nodded and agreed, smiling about the absolute holiday cheer of the moment.

"What are you all doing? Don't you realize how dangerous it is to throw stuff around here? You're going to get us all killed!" Artie ran as well as he could into the aisle and before any explanation could be given, Claudia poked her head over the crate and lobbed a snowball at their boss. As it crashed against his chest, everyone was silent and frozen in place for a moment. Artie stumbled back into a shelf, bumping it with mild force. Everyone watched in horror as some of the artifacts shifted with the force, but, as none seemed too disturbed, all but Artie whooped with laughter. Pete offered Claudia a high-five as she finally left her hiding spot behind the box.

"CLAUDIA!" Artie bellowed, pushing himself up quickly. The laughter faded into awkward wheezing and suppressed grins instantaneously and Claudia gulped, seeing that Artie really wasn't amused. "You may be the new caretaker, but that does not give you the right to act like a child!" He fixed his glasses and shot nasty looks to everyone before waddling back towards the office. Claudia bit her lip and let her gaze fall to her shoes to hide the heartbreak in her eyes.

"Geez, and I thought the Grinch was bad." Pete muttered, trying to break the silence. When Claudia didn't perk back up, Steve made his way to her side and patted her on the back.

"Hey, come on, he didn't mean it. Artie's just an old grouch, especially around the holidays." Steve comforted, bringing her gaze up slightly.

"It's… whatever. I'm good." She mumbled, looking away from Steve so he couldn't see that she was lying. He could still tell. "I'm just going to check the next aisle." She took off with this, jamming her hands into her pockets and leaving the older agents in the Christmas aisle.

"Do you think she's okay?" Myka asked, looking mostly to Steve for an answer.

"It seems like a nerve's been struck." Jinks replied, looking off into the direction Claudia had exited.

"Artie seems fairly tense for a man who just last night was…" H.G. mused, stopping herself as she was met with uncomfortable gazes. "This century and your taboos. All I meant was that generally my experience _that _sort of thing usually calms people."

"So that's why Myka's been so relaxed lately." Pete grinned at the two women, his thoughts obvious enough that they were practically playing out on his face.

"Pete!" Myka punched his arm fiercely but H.G. just smirked.

"Nope. There's tense Myka. H.G., you gotta do something about that…" Pete continued, shaking out in arm in pain.

"Oh, I intend to." H.G. nodded, making Myka go completely red in the face.

"Not that your sex lives don't interest me, but maybe we should think about cheering Claudia up? Christmas is in tomorrow and I don't think we should let her mope through that." Steve suggested. Pete, Helena, and Myka nodded and looked to him, blank on ideas. Steve raised an eyebrow at them and continued. "Did any of you get presents for her yet?" They exchanged guilty looks.

"Well…"

"Myka and I were going to put something together."

"Doe a gift card count?" Steve shook his head at them.

"This is perfect. I know just what we can get her." He rubbed his hands together before explaining his idea. It was brilliant.

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><p><em>A few aisles over…<em>

"Stupid old man… I should just fire him." Claudia kicked at the ground as she sulked and wandered through the aisles. "I'm the caretaker of the fraking warehouse! I can have a snowball fight if I want!" As she let her feelings get the better of her, she didn't notice the storm clouds forming overhead as the building picked up on her energy. She didn't really understand the unique bond she now shared with the place. "He would've never said anything like that to Ms. Frederic!" "No, he wouldn't have." Claudia nearly jumped out of her skin as the old caretaker appeared behind her. "You have got to teach me how to do that." Claudia laughed nervously. "Soon." Ms. Fredric gave a faint smile. "I thought you were spending your retirement in the remote land of None of Our Business." Claudia said, wondering why the mysterious woman was making an appearance. "Yes, but I thought you might need a few more lessons." Ms. Fredric spoke softly, looking perplexed as Claudia seemed to be upset by this. "You too? Do any of you trust me to do this?" Claudia started walking away and the dark clouds started spreading and flashing with lightening. "Of course we trust you. Why do you think I would retire if I didn't believe you were ready?" Ms. Fredric followed close behind her. "There are simply just a few things I need you to understand."

"Oh yeah, because I'm just some dumb kid who doesn't understand."

"Claudia," Ms. Fredric stopped following and held her ground. "You need to calm down."

"Calm? You're asking me to be freaking calm? You ditch this huge responsibility on me and disappear and you expect everything to be sunshine and butterflies? Well, it's not. I can't do this. Maybe I am just a kid." Claudia wiped at her eyes before storming away quicker. She had finally noticed the brewing storm, but was too upset to care. The combination of Artie's comment and the pressure of her new position had pushed her over the edge. As she rushed through the office, not even acknowledging Artie's presence, Trailer followed her out. The dog could pick up on her distress as much as the warehouse. She let Trai jump into the passenger seat of the El Camino and screeched away, back to the B&B.

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><p><em>Back in the Aisle of Noel…<em>

"Who's up for a short getaway to Wright, Wyoming?" Steve grinned as he shut his cell phone.

"Is that where he is?" Pete asked.

"According to my buddy, yeah. Our agencies tend to do these kinds of favors for each other. Also, he tried to beat me in poker." Jinks glanced up to see the stormy clouds above them. "Uh, guys, what is that?"

"Sometimes the warehouse gets pissed off…" Myka suggested.

"Or, the new caretaker does." Helena offered, sighing.

"H.G., Myka, why don't you two head to Wyoming. You'll definitely be able to persuade him to come back." Steve instructed, pointing at the brunette ladies.

"We do have powers of persuasion." H.G. smiled at Myka and raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"Pete, keep Artie busy. I'm not sure he'd be totally on board with this plan."

"Roger that. What will you do, Jinksy?" As Pete asked, Steve's gaze turned to the ceiling.

"I'm going to try to keep Claudia from turning a hurricane loose in here."

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><p><em>On the way to pick up Claudia's present…<em>

"How are we going to find one young man in an entire town?" Helena asked, climbing in the passenger seat of Myka's car. Myka took her spot in front of the wheel before answering.

"There's only 2,000 people in Wright, how hard can it be?"

"You sound rather confident." H.G. fumbled slightly with her seatbelt as Myka started driving off. She hadn't totally gotten the hang of them yet.

"Well, I am." Myka smiled as she flipped down the shades of her glasses. "Plus, some time alone will be nice."

"It does sound nice." Helena smiled to herself and looked out the window, noticing a gas station. "Oh! Myka, pull over here."

"Why? The tank's full?"

"Well, if we're going to be driving for four hours, we might as well get some snacks."

"Twizzlers?" Myka asked hopefully.

"Is there any other worthwhile snack?" Helena unbuckled herself and opened the door.

"See, this is why I love you."

"Really? And here I was thinking it was it was my British accent and beautiful brown eyes."

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><p><em>Meanwhile, in Artie's office…<em>

"What the hell is going on around here?" Artie asked as Pete walked into his office.

"What do you mean?" Pete asked, feigning confusion.

"You know exactly what I mean! You're all up to something."

"What? Artie? You're just being paranoid. Maybe I should call up the doc and get her to relieve some of that tension." Artie's face went immediately red. Pete knew just what buttons he had to push with his boss.

"Will you _at least_ tell me why it's raining in the warehouse?" Artie sounded completely annoyed.

"Really? You don't know?" Pete looked slightly disappointed as he sat in one of the rolly chairs.

"Know? Know what?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because you totally dissed the new caretaker." Pete was now the one who sounded more annoyed. It bothered him that Artie could be this oblivious.

"Claudia?"

"Yeah, buddy. Now you owe some mucho apologies." It took Artie a moment to decipher Pete's misuse of Spanish and what exactly was going on. He had no idea that his words had hurt her in that way, as usual.

"I… I didn't know." Artie was softening right before Pete's eyes.

"Well, now you do. And you better make it right soon, because I'm pretty sure Claudia can have you bronzed or something now."

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><p><em>At the B&amp;B…<em>

Steve knocked cautiously on Claudia's door in the B&B. He heard her moving around inside, but she didn't immediately respond.

"Hey, Claud, aren't you going to let your BFFEWYLION in? Come on, open the door. Please?" Claudia was standing right on the other side of the door, near tears. It took her a few more seconds, but she did end up letting him in.

"What do you want?" She asked, wiping her nose and trying to sound tough.

"Just want to talk. You okay?"

"I'm fine." Steve held back his usual response to a lie from his teammate, knowing that it really wasn't the time.

"You know, Artie was just coming down with a case of humbug. All of us know how grown up you are." Steve sat on the end of her bed, patting it so she'd join him. She tentatively took her place next to him, looking down to the floor.

"But what if I'm not? What if I'm ready for all this responsibility?" Claudia leaned her head against his shoulder, letting her normal guard down.

"Then all of us are here to help you." Steve spoke quietly, putting a comforting arm around her. "You're never alone here."

"I just think I'm going to screw it all up."

"You're not going to screw it. You're going to be the best caretaker a warehouse has ever had." Steve smiled at her and it really made her feel better. The clouds in the warehouse quickly started to disappear as she wiped away the hint of tears in her eyes.

"I'm not so sure I'll be the _best_. I mean, Ms. F kinda nailed it."

"She is a hard act to follow, but you'll do fine." Claudia started smiling; Steve always knew exactly what to say.

"Hey, Steve?"

"Yeah, Claud?"

"Thanks."

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><p><em>T<em>_he next day, Christmas morning._

"Jinksy! Jinksy! Wake up! It's Christmas!" Claudia tore into his room and bounced on the edge of his bed, gently slapping him to wake up. He looked up to her with wide eyes.

"What time is it?"

"7 AM! Get out of bed!" Steve laughed a little at her youthful excitement. He knew she hadn't had a lot of great Christmases as a kid and it was nice to see her making up for lost time. Also, he knew exactly what was waiting under the tree for her and he was excited to see what her reaction would be.

"Come on, we've got to get everyone else up for presents." Claudia grabbed his hand and yanked him out his warm bed. As they entered the hall, Trai started following, intent to help with the wake up call. They picked Pete's room next. Opening his door, Claudia ran to his bedside and helped Trailer up onto the bed to lick his face.

"Pete! It's Christmas!"

"Huh? Whatsa… Christmas? Already?" Pete mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Get up! Get up! Get up!" He finally began to move, pushing Trai and the covers off of himself. He was, of course, sleeping shirtless. Steve grabbed a sweater from Pete's floor and tossed it towards him.

"Put a shirt on, man." Steve commanded as he stood up. Pete quickly complied and followed them to H.G. and Myka's room.

"Ho, ho, ho, ladies." Pete announced as they burst into the room. Myka and Helena popped up immediately with looks of terror.

"Christmas time!" Claudia grinned, jumping into their bed between them. They both simultaneously pulled the covers around themselves, Myka looking much more embarrassed than Helena. Claudia froze as she realized they were both naked.

"Meet us downstairs?" Steve asked, offering Claudia a hand out of the bed.

"Be there is a minute or two." Helena replied, chuckling. Pete, Claudia, Steve, and Trai stumbled down the stairs to find Leena all ready up in the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas!" Leena smiled at all of them as Helena and Myka came downstairs. "Hot chocolate?"

"Yes, please!" Claudia grabbed a mug and looked around. "Is the old fart up yet?"

"Yes, your elderly flatulence is here." Artie called from the living room.

"Merry Christmas!" Called another voice from the living room. It seemed that Dr. Calder had made it back for Christmas. Claudia followed the sounds of his voice.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize for totally nailing you with that snowball. I know it was dangerous and…" Claudia spoke apologetically before spotting someone else across the room. It was the last person she expected to see back her at the B&B.

"Todd?" She sputtered in disbelief. As Pete, Myka, Helena, and Steve heard her discovering their present, they followed into the living room.

"Hey, uh… merry Christmas." The young male techie awkward stuttered upon seeing her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, walking over to him.

"Well, your friends found out where they moved me and they kinda kidnapped me and brought me back here." Claudia looked back to her fellow agents, smiling ear to ear.

"You said you wanted to find him. Now you have." Steve explained.

"I can't believe I'm seeing you again. I thought I never would and…" Todd smiled before being interrupted.

"Oh, shut up and kiss me." Claudia said, pulling him in for a long overdue kiss.

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><p><em>Later that night, at dinner. <em>

Everyone sat around the dinning room table drooling over the beautiful meal Leena had prepared. Claudia and Todd sat next to each other, saying more with their large smiles than they could with words. Just as Leena put the last dishes on the table, Artie stood and hit the side of his glass with his knife.

"I'm going to make a toast. So, be quiet and stop picking at the mashed potatoes, Pete! We've all been through a lot lately and there's been a lot of change. Especially, for Claudia." Artie paused and looked over to her, having a little trouble wording exactly what he wanted to say. "Claudia, you are one of the most wonderful, intelligent, and responsible young women I know. We all know you're going to be a great caretaker." Artie smiled slight and sat. Vanessa patted his shoulder slightly.

"That was an excellent toast, Artie." She smiled at him, making him blush.

"Caretaker?" Todd asked, brow furrowed.

"It's an IRS thing." Claudia answered, positively glowing. To hear Artie finally stop being a grouch was a nice change of pace.

"Enough with the sappy toasts! The food's getting cold." Pete whined.

"Fine, let's eat!" Artie announced. Instantaneously, everyone made a lunge for the food. As they ate, shared, and laughed together, they looked like a real family. It didn't matter that they all came from different places or different situations because here, they were home.

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><p><strong>May your fandoms be merry and bright! And may all your ships sleep together toniiiiiiight!<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed this. Please, drop a review for me! **


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